Greed
by Batfangirl7773
Summary: "Greedy little thing, aren't you?" I heard the bird man chuckle. This only angered me further. "And who are you to decide what I am! You simply stand before me in your glory pretending you are enlightened with such wisdom we both know you don't have," I spat. He only sighed with a saddened grin. "Then perhaps I will show you what my own greed is about to make me do to you."
1. Chapter 1

**So at first I was a little hesitant to post this, but after seeing the movie I figured what the heck. I just have to do it, and if it sucks, then whatever.**

**My hopes for this is that the upcoming themes will slowly develop in a understanding way to my readers, and that which will be remembered. So let me know if my hopes turn out!**

**Just a heads up that this story starts just before, during, then after the movie in case questions do arise.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Maleficent I only own my OC**

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Chapter 1

I awoke with a heaving start upon my lumpy cot, my stomach growling and clenching in its usual, agonizing way.

I gripped my scratchy blanket hissing in pain as I hunched over my body, taking quick breaths and counting backwards from 10, just as mother had taught me.

_"10, 9, 8, 7, 6..."_

I slowly unclenched my muscles as I felt the tightening lesson and I felt a sigh of relief escape through my lips.

I'd been living with my stomach hollow for 17 years, and I still haven't gotten used to its daily pangs, but what is expected from a family of four that is so poor they can't even afford to live near other people. One could say that there were mental benefits in always feeling the starvation, and if they did, they'd be insane.

Living life without being allowed the natural necessities just made everything more valuable and at the same time, more difficult to obtain. It was maddening to say the least, to **always** _want _more to sustain myself, but to never be able do anything about it.

No matter how much I was able to sneak and steal, it was never enough.

"How stupid I was to think that yesterdays spoils would sustain me," I muttered under my breath as I slid out from under my one blanket, letting my feet skid against the cold, wooden floor.

"Today will have to be different," I stated before I heard the slight creak of my door, alerting me that there was someone behind it.

"It's about time you got up daughter! I need help making food for the men, you know this," my mother said, her wide but hollow brown eyes frantic, but not any more than they usually were.

Her comment caused me to inwardly roll my eyes. "Men" when addressing my father I could understand, but when concerning my little 8 year old brother? To that I scoff openly.

"I'm sorry mother," I murmured softly, knowing that it was banned in my household for my mother or I to ever disagree or raise our voices.

"Just come downstairs and help me," my mother sighed impatiently. I only nodded, a few choice words jumbling in my head, it being the only place where I could speak freely, and followed her through our rickety, chipped wooden house.

Our kitchen consisted of several broken cupboards, an old oven that was always coated in a layer of grime no matter how much my mother and I cleaned it, and, of course, a wooden table made to fit four people.

I then began my regular search through the many cupboards trying to find whatever was left, my stomach still growling, while my mother sifted through our large collection of herbs. Our herbs were the one thing we had a surplus of, but we couldn't live just off of sage and rosemary, nor do they sell for any more than pennies in our local market.

Today when gently searching, however, I felt my heart freeze in despair as I saw that yet another one of our cupboards was completely barren and empty.

"Mother?" I pointed out, a sinking feeling in my gut. I flinched as I felt her step beside me and tense. I heard her breath in heavily before forcing a smile onto her face.

"Don't fret my darling, our yearly supply will restock us ," my mother soothed, her soft hands brushing through my long brown hair. "But until then we'll have to spilt our two meals a day for each of us, to one meal a day."

"What?!" I yelped, my stomach clenching again as if proving a point. The scraps of bread and water I was allowed to eat each day was nowhere _near _enough to what I needed, even when I did find my food elsewhere, but now I'd be getting half that?! I most likely wouldn't survive until our yearly supply was restocked!

"Hush child!" Mother warned, even through she couldn't blame me for raising my voice in my surprise.

_"Those fat pigs. They're taking all of our food while leaving us to starve!" _I exclaimed angrily in my head referring more to the tax collectors who took their source of money in the payment of food since we barely had any coins left to spare, than the two boys in my family.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, even though it was most likely too easy to tell that I wasn't. I could feel my mother grip my shoulder, but I still refused to look at her.

"I know it's unfair," she tried. "We're women, of course it is, but that doesn't give us the right to lose track," she soothed, kissing my forehead as if it made everything better.

"We need to keep our men fed and healthy so that they can have enough energy to hunt," she added, which made me openly roll my eyes.

_"As if there is any game left to hunt. The king's men have taken it all!"_ I thought angrily.

I love my mother, and I know she loves me, but at times she was just so naïve it was mind riveting.

"Clara?" I heard my father's light voice call from the doorway of the kitchen. Turning slightly I could see little William standing behind his legs looking completely miserable.

"Yes dear? Mom asked.

"I don't...eh see any food..." my father mumbled sheepishly. William nodded behind him, feigning starvation, which made my blood boil. I stepped forward in my anger, but mother caught me, just as she always did, and answered before I could.

"It's coming sweetheart we've just had a bit of a slow start this morning," Mother answered calmly. I gave my father a second of a cold stare before turning back to opening our last stocked cupboard which was hardly filled with the bread mom and I were forced to share.

"We'll just soak it in thyme to make the taste more bearable. Give them a good portion," Mother whispered in my ear as I passed. This time I didn't even nod.

As I carefully traced my fingers over our meal I heard my mother begin to open the windows and the front door, letting the cool air blow throughout our cottage (shack), blowing out the muggy summer air that had settled overnight.

I then put the bread onto our four cracked plates and brought it over to the table where my father and William were anxiously awaiting their food, even though they had had their 3 full meals yesterday.

As I sat at my usual spot at the table, opposite my mother while my father and brother took the heads of the table, and prepared to eagerly tear into my food as soon as my father gave the command; however, I was interrupted in my daydreaming of the hunger pangs subduing by my mother taking the hardly edible scrap of bread on my plate and placing it onto hers.

"He-!" I started, bewildered, but my mother shot down my shout with a furious glare. I instantly earned another from my father, a silent warning not to raise my voice again.

"One meal a day for the both of us. I'll take breakfast and you will take dinner," Mother said gently, all traces of her anger gone. I looked, shocked, to my father, but he was too busy eating his own large portion of bread to notice.

"Mother," I whimpered softly, my stomach clenching for the third time in the past hour as if on cue. I watched her sigh in defeat before reluctantly offering a portion of her plate to me.

I tore into the bread, and before I even realized what I was doing, I had consumed half of my mother's plate before she had even gotten a single bite.

"Slow down," William commanded with a childish smirk, as if mentally saying _"You have to listen to meeee! Or else!"_

_"Brat," _I spat in my head.

With my mouth still full of the seasoned bread, I took just a bit more from my mother's plate, glaring at William, until she took it back to finish whatever I had left her, a saddened expression on her frail face. I hardly noticed.

"Hello birdie!" I heard William cry with glee, his stomach now filled with food, no matter how pathetic of food it was. I turned my head to him to see that he was indeed addressing a bird, a black one to be exact, which was sitting on our open windowsill, cocking its head as if waiting for something.

"Are you hungry?" William continued, and before I could stop him, he threw a piece of whatever was left on his cracked plate to the floor where the bird immediately swooped down and snatched it up in its beak.

My mother and I both jumped, mortified, but this time, she was unable to control my anger.

"William! What are you thinking?! We NEED that food! What in the heavens makes you think that its ok to give THROW it away to some useless creature?!" I shouted at him in my rage, causing William's big blue eyes to fill with tears.

I jumped as the bird cawed in time with my yelling, and I tried to scare it away, but was interrupted by my father roughly grabbing ahold of my wrist making me wince.

I stared up into his rage filled blue eyes fearfully as I heard him growl something guttural deep in his chest.

_"Get the hell out _of this cottage. And **stay **out until you learn your place within it," he spat threateningly into my face. I felt a single tear filled with shock and fright fall down my cheek as I wrenched myself out of my father's grip and stumbled over my chair, trying to get away.

"Tarence-" my mother tried with a timid whisper while soothing William, who was still crying, but she was quickly interrupted.

"OUT!" I heard my father roar at me.

With a loud shriek I fled from the kitchen and out the front door, tears now freely falling from my hazel eyes down my cheeks as I ran.

I made it as far as our herb garden only a few hundred feet away from the cottage before I had to stop and catch my breath from my excessive crying and sprinting.

_"That bastard! I hate him! I hate all of this! It's so unfair! I hate him!" _I cried in my head as I continued to cry, pathetically leaning against the post of our scarecrow, now too weak to even hold myself up.

A loud caw startled me from my crying as I saw...the same bird from the kitchen just sitting on our scarecrow! The same bird that had come in begging for food and had caused this in the first place!

"You disgusting creature! This is your fault!" I shouted at it, blinded by my raging emotions as I turned and fled away from it, unbeknownst to me that it was following in pursuit.

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**So that's chapter 1! What do you guys think? Our OC's current lifestyle? Her unrealized greediness for food (and perhaps other things), *hint hint***

**her wanting to freely express herself but getting punished? And what about poor Diaval getting blamed for the whole thing? **

**Tell me what you think! Reviews and criticisms are always welcome! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much to those who have reviewed, favorite, and followed this story! It really warms my heart to know that what I write is appreciated, especially since the last chapter was really an introduction to the whole thing, so I've decided to continue! I hope you all enjoy chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Maleficent, I only own my OC and anyone else you don't recognize.**

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Chapter 2

I soon felt the blistering heat on the back of my arms and neck as I stumbled through the forest and away from the dried up grasslands. The tears had stopped miles back, but only because I was so focused on keeping my legs moving before they collapsed on themselves.

_"I'm never going back there! Not until the day I die!" _I sobbed defiantly in my head because I too tired to let anything but oxygen pass through my lips.

I meant it too. I wasn't ever going back to that place; I wouldn't be able to stand another minute of watching the vile _vultures _that I call family inhale every source of life that was kept behind a single, broken cupboard.

From now on I would provide for myself instead of only for my greedy family, which as I realized, is the way I prefer things. That way I wouldn't ever have to share or give up any of my spoils.

_"And that disgusting little creature too!"_ I thought, remembering the black bird. _"__If I ever see that thing again I'll...I'll-" _I panted in my mind before I let out a loud, ear piercing scream as I felt my legs twist out from underneath me.

I felt my body hurdle to the ground with a loud **thud**, both of my knees scraping harshly against the dirt covered ground.

A pathetic cry escaped my lips as I writhed in pain on the ground, struggling to find whatever I had tripped over.

"Damn trees!" I cried, upon seeing the gnarled tree root peeking its head above the ground.

_"That's what you get for not paying attention," _the wise part of my self-conscious cackled. I only growled in frustration.

Woozily, I struggled to gather myself and winced at seeing my now bloodied knees through the tears in my faded and already torn red dress.

I let out a sniffle and brushed away my injuries, figuring that it wasn't anything to fret over. I'd never received treatment before in my childhood when I had gotten hurt, we were too poor, but I ended up being fine after a few days.

It made me angry to think that whenever _William_ got hurt, however, he was coddled and babied, and given whatever medicine we had. This only flared my ongoing rage.

Blinding grabbing at something to pull myself up with, I wobbled on unsteady legs, pulling myself back into a standing position, catching my breath.

_"What have I ever done to be cursed into such a family?" _I thought miserably in my mind as I moved to take in my surroundings.

I had been in the forest many times, more often then not to completely cross through it to the other side where several houses made easy food targets for my quick fingers.

Looking closer I saw that I had nearly passed through it in my blind running and that I was almost, in fact, to the other side.

_"Perhaps I'll house here for a while," _I thought, turning once again to continue on my way, the anticipation of living alone casting away my anger.

However, a single and yet familiar "_CAW!" _made me snap my head upwards to the trees, my fueling anger now returned. That stupid thing must've followed me!

_"I swear that bird is going to be sorry if I ever get my hands on it," _I thought bitterly as I carefully let my eyes wander up to the tallest branches until they laid upon a single black mound huddling atop one.

"Ah ha!" I shouted up at it, enjoying how I could yell as loud as I wanted, and suddenly rushed forwards to do heaven knows what, only to trip back over the _same _tree root in my haste.

This time, I fell to the ground face first, much harder than the first time, and straight onto my nose, efficiently jarring it.

I could almost picture that stupid bird laughing with glee at my misfortune.

The newly found discomfort and frustration suddenly caused my emotions to once again go crazy, making me cry all over again, burying my head into my arms.

"You horrid, _horrid_ thing!" I sobbed into my arms, until I heard another caw, but a softer one as if coming from directly in front of me.

Taking a very hesitant peek I jumped in surprise as I saw the bird now standing right next to me, its beak almost touching my arm.

"No! You go away! Leave me alone!" I shouted at it with tear filled eyes, but all it did was blink.

"You filthy thing! Get away from me!" I tried again, but the damn thing didn't move! It simply just stood there watching me! I could picture a mocking look on its face.

I moved one of my arms to swat it away but, to my shock, it quickly jumped out of the way of my hand with surprising speed. I then heard it squawk if saying _"Ha! You can't get me!"_

"Listen you," I started, now balling my hands into fists, my tears gone, but my anger still lingered, but now slightly clouded by curiosity. "You get, or I'll...um I'll-!" I started, before watching it cock it's head as if saying _"__Or you'll what?"_

This resulted in me letting out a defeated sigh. I knew no matter how much I let on, I couldn't ever hurt it. I was in a more right state of mind now.

I was brought up to be a gentle girl which meant I've loved animals since I was small and to this day I still did.

Though it confused me greatly to think that this little bird knew it too, which is why it still stayed, stubbornly rooted to its spot.

I then shakily moved from my sprawled position to sit crossed, while gently wiping my eyes.

"Alright you, just go. Go on, go find your friends I haven't got anything," I muttered at it, hating to admit defeat, before pushing myself back up to my feet, hissing at the soreness of my knees.

Without looking back, I began my short trek to exit the forest, not really caring if the bird flew away or just stayed rooted on the ground. I was sure that if it stayed, it would be eaten by some other animal anyways.

The flapping of wings caught my attention and I figured the bird had finally flown away, but when I turned my head to make sure, I saw the dammed thing standing right behind me!

"Why do you follow me?! I haven't got any food," I sighed in annoyance, although a slight smile of disbelief was also there. "I don't know if you noticed, but I did want to kill you this morning."

I watched in amusement as I watched it tilt its head and caw as if saying _"Who ME?" _

"Yes you!" I said to it before turning to be on my way again, but this time when I heard the flapping of wings I didn't find the need to turn around. I knew it was still following me, but I had no intention of stopping it. It would get bored eventually once it found out I had no more food to give it.

_"I never knew birds could portray such human qualities," _I thought with a shrug, going back on it's varying emotions.

"I hope you know this is your fault," I chided over my shoulder. "If you hadn't been begging around this whole situation could have been avoided."

There was no answering caw, to my disappointment, only a more frantic flapping sound as the bird struggled to keep up with my pace and fly beside me now instead of behind me.

I felt myself giggled involuntarily as I watched the bird try to find a branch to sit on. I stopped in my walking to give it a rest.

"Tired are we? You would think that the bread you stole would've given you the energy," I told it knowingly.

This time I heard it squawk in surprise as if saying _"Well how am I supposed to eat then?" _

I scoffed, mockingly, at it watching now full of only curiosity at the way it somehow got its point of thinking across to me.

"How funny it is you understand what I'm saying. I guess it makes it less insane that I'm talking to you," I said tersely, with a reluctant grin. Looking closer at the bird I was surprised to see that it was actually a little black raven.

_"Aren't ravens supposed to be larger?" _I thought in surprise, as I watched it humorously as it hopped on its branch.

Suddenly, however, it jumped straight off of it, apparently bored, and right at me!

I yelped in surprise, getting a face full of feathers, but before I could give it a shout, I felt the tips of pointed claws gently grasp onto my shoulder.

Looking over frantically, I saw the greedy little raven had perched itself on my shoulder!

"Oh no!" I said in disbelief. "I am not going to carry you, if you want to come along you'll have to do it on your own," I scolded, while I tried to push the raven off as gently as I could; however, the damn thing decided that it wanted to flat out refuse!

The second I tried to push it away, I felt it sink its feet into my shoulder tightly to stand it's ground.

"OW!" I yelled out, now roughly swatting it away, sending it squawking as if yelling _"Hey!"_

"Serves you right you lazy creature," I chided, continuing my trek quickly before it decided to try a second attempt.

Hearing no reply I turned around to see it hopping behind me miserably, still refusing to simply use its wings.

_"What a stubborn little thing," _I thought with a laugh, even though I knew I was exactly the same way.

A short time later myself and the little raven had found ourselves at the edge of the forest, where my eyes eagerly fell upon Farmer Lawrence's old cottage.

Farmer Lawrence, his wife, three daughters, and one son were almost as poor as my family was, but while we at least tried to act like civilized people, this family had lost all refinement several months ago leaving them, dirty, angry, and wild.

To me, this was the perfect place to take what I could, and it was also a place I visited frequently. They may have been poor, but they did farm wheat, making it easy for the women to make many loaves of bread, no matter how distasteful it was. It was no mystery why they were so poor.

"Alright, now," I said, crouching down to the little bird. "This is where I leave you. I've enjoyed your company, but now it's time for you to go now," I told it carefully, knowing that this would be a challenge.

I watched the bird give me a _"Why don't I get to come? What did I do wrong?" _look of disappointment, hopping even closer to my slender legs.

"No," I tried again, kicking it away. It cawed in surprise, again jumping out of the way with incredible speed.

"Go on!" I said impatiently, quickly growing frustrated. Thinking of no other option I picked up a rock that was laying by my foot and sharply threw it to the left of the bird, making sure I didn't hit it by accident.

I felt my guilt rise up within me as I heard the bird let out a frantic screech and fly away in a frenzy, but now before giving me what I thought was a hard and unforgiving glare.

"It's not like anything else would have made you go," I muttered even after it was gone.

I knew I couldn't let it follow me however. The people I stole from were all poor, only because it was much to difficult to steal form the rich, they took precautions towards people like me.

The people I steal from were so barren and hungry they would take and kill any animal they saw in the place of food whether it be a house mouse, or a dirty raven.

_"I'd better go before the pangs come back," _I thought. Considering how much energy I had wasted sprinting for how long I did.

Temporarily forgetting my guilt, I started into the tall yellow wheat plants towards Farmer Lawrence's house, careful to keep my eyes open for both him and his son.

The smell of bread suddenly wafted into my nose, drawing me towards the open window of the broken down cottage, the wails of the youngest daughter coming into range as well.

Once I reached the window I quickly ducked under it and peered into their kitchen through a crack in the old wood.

Through it, I saw the youngest daughter pulling on her mother's ripped skirts, crying from the starvation, while the two older twins savagely pulled the other's hair a few feet away, a large piece of fruit held in the taller one's gnarled hand, while the mother angrily tried to rip them apart.

_"Easy meal," _I thought with a smirk.

Slipping off my worn down slipper shoes, I silently popped out from under the windowsill and slung my legs over it, not making a sound. It wouldn't have mattered if I were loud, however, for the girls were far too occupied on the opposite side of the room.

Seeing an open opportunity to grab the two loaves of bread that was up for grabs on the table, I raised onto my toes and carefully stepped in such a way where I wouldn't step on a board of wood that would creak under my weight. I then grabbed both loaves on the table and scurried out of the room just as I heard a loud "Hey!"

"Wow you're hot!" I cried at the bread, singeing my fingers before dropping the loaves onto the dying grass under my feet in surprise. I then quickly slipped on my shoes and cradled my food to my chest, bearing through the heat and made a run for the forest as I heard the loud shrills of Farmer Lawrence's wife and daughters.

My knees were burning in agony by the time I'd made it halfway back to the forest while the bread continued to burn my skin through my tattered dress.

_"Just a while longer," _I thought, turning around to see if I was being followed, only to my delight, I found that the girls had apparently given up!

_"Wonderful," _I breathed in my head._ "Now just as long as I steer clear of Farmer..."_

"WOOEE we got 'im boy!" I heard a raspy voice shout with glee.

"Damn!" I panted, stopping dead in my tracks jarring my knees even more.

I immediately hit the ground upon seeing old Farmer Lawrence just in front of me, alongside his little rat for a son.

_"I'll have to wait until they've gone otherwise they'll see me and give chase," _I thought as I struggled to see the crazy farmer through the tall wheat.

"We'll be eatin' GOOD tonight!" He cried as his son nodded eagerly in agreement as Farmer Lawrence raised a wooden club in his right hand making me shiver in disgust, and also fear.

As I silently peeked through the unruly, untended plants, I squinted my eyes as I saw that they had thrown a net to the ground, efficiently trapping a small, frantic animal that was desperately trying to get free before it was beaten to death.

_"We all have to eat I guess," _I thought with a shudder, clenching my eyes, not wanting to see the death of the animal.

I felt my ears crawl as I heard a final squawk come from the animal, a pitiful sound, but a sound that was all to familiar to me. I didn't even have to look to know what it was.

It was the little raven.

"NO!" I suddenly shouted, jumping from my crouched place on the ground and charging towards the duo, completely forgetting the bread that now lay abandoned on the ground. "Leave it alone! Let it go!"

"What the devil!" I heard the Farmer yelp, not even hearing me, as I sprinted forwards him to stop him, even though I knew he was much stronger than I was.

As I neared the clearing I saw that it was indeed the little raven trapped under the net, but the second I moved to shove aside the crazy man and lift it, Farmer Lawrence turned around and barreled straight into my frail body, knocking me back to the ground in his haste.

"Filthy whore!" He raged at me over his shoulder in a trembling voice as he and his son sprinted back to their cottage, leaving me breathless on the ground.

_"What in the hell has gotten you so spooked?!" _I thought wildly in my head.

Remembering the bird, I quickly got over my shock and scrambled on the ground to get up, but I let out a terrified shriek at what I saw.

Shivering on the ground under the net was _no_ little raven, but instead, a very dirty, and very naked, **man.**

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**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok so I just wanted to clear up that I know that my OC is kind of an emotional wreck and I just wanted to point out that she is almost starving to death, and she has been living in a place that makes sure that she does. She's thought of as less because she's a girl and on top of it all she feels extreme guilt because she does steal from others so tat she can survive.**

**Now one can imagine that it would put a lot of stress and emotional problems within a person, so I just wanted to make that clear. **

**In other words what did you guys think?! I personally loved the little conversation she had with Diaval...I really enjoyed writing that part! And now she's seen his human form, so wonder where that will leadXD**

**Please leave a review and let me know, any responses are always welcome along with following and favoriting! Thanks again!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I am so so sorry about the little wait. My finals are coming up and my parents are freaking out that I'm not studying enough even thought the tests are like 2 weeks from now. **

**So naturally I haven't been able to use my computer but thank gods I get a tiny slot of time to write this. **

**I promise once summer starts updates will be more regular, but for now, enjoy and extra long Chapter 3.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent OR ANY OF THE DIALOGUE SAID IN THIS CHAPTER. Normally I hate doing this but under the circumstances, it is necessary. Just know that it isn't mine and I give all credit to the script writers. **

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Chapter 3

I stared at the naked man before me in complete shock and fear as he frantically forced the net holding him to the ground away while struggling to stand.

"What sorcery is this?!" I tried to scream, but could only utter it as a choked whisper.

I was always told that those who perform sorcery were dangerous individuals that lived in a place called 'Moors.'

They were said to be greedy and vile, feeding off of those who were of less fortune for their own sick pleasure.

_"Was that why he was following me? To feed off of my misfortune?" _I thought fearfully.

I watched the dark haired man, covered head to toe in dirt, turn slightly to focus upon my trembling form on the ground, a look of pure confusion and horror flashing across his face.

"What have you done to my beautiful self," he accused shakily, making me frown in equal confusion, still slightly shivering on the ground.

"Me?-" I started with a whimper, before I saw another figure emerge from the untended wheat plants just a few feet away, making me gasp in both awe and horror upon its appearance.

It could easily be recognized as a woman, just not a human one.

She was dressed in a long brown dress that fell to the dirty ground in long folds, but covered in natural earthy qualities. Her hair fell across her shoulders in perfect waves while her lips were full and blood red.

The most unnerving thing about her, however, were the two sharp horns sitting atop her head and the wooden staff she carried threateningly in her right hand.

She was incredibly beautiful, but something in her interchangeable green, blue, and brown eyes held something wicked and dangerous, which caused a large amount of terror to latch onto my heart.

_"She must be from these 'Moors' too," _I thought with dread.

She then stepped forwards with grace, using her staff as a walking stick, barely giving me a second glance as she approached, yet her calm demeanor towards me sniffed_ "I've no need of you. Go."_

"Would you have rather me let them beat you to death?" I heard her honey-like voice drawl to the very confused bird man, who's accusing glare never left me until looking up in surprise at the woman.

Seeing my chance with both of them distracted, I immediately flung myself from the ground and scrambled on my bleeding knees to escape the clearing without directing attention.

"No! Please wait-!" I heard the bird man call after me with a loud plea, but that only fueled my adrenaline to make me sprint faster to the trees, my long golden brown hair streaming out from behind me.

_"Not in this lifetime!" _I shouted back at him in my head, only because I was frightened that he or the woman would give chase if I had said it aloud.

Of course I was used to the running, seeing as though the people I stole from were so desperate to get regain their food, but never in my life have I ever run away from a person **not** feeling pleased with myself.

I reached the trees in record time where I ran until I couldn't take the burning pressure on my lungs and the aching fire beneath my feet.

With a loud croak I collapsed onto my knees and to the ground, panting heavily on my back, my thoughts swarming

"What if they come after me?! The raven had followed me from home, who's to say he isn't following me now?" I said aloud, suddenly thrashing my head around in worry to watch for the flapping of black wings.

The part of me that wasn't afraid, however, was indefinitely and unfortunately curious.

Where are these 'Moors' people coming from? Why did the raven not attack me when he had the chance?

And why did he seem so confused when he took a different form? Wasn't he the one who conjured his own magic? Or was it the woman?

_"You're being foolish!" _I scolded my curious self, refusing to give in to my wonder. I was supposed to fear and hate these people!

I had to find a way to hide for the time being until I knew I had been forgotten. I couldn't waste my time and energy in wondering about how they were going to come after me.

With a determined nod, I quickly rose to my feet, only to feel an all too familiar pain in my stomach, causing me to wince.

It was then I realized that I had abandoned my bread in the wheat fields, most likely collected by Farmer Lawrence by now.

_"If I move quickly I can find something to eat before it darkens,"_ I thought, inwardly growling at the fact that the king's soldiers had already stripped the forests of their natural bounties, leaving it barren for the remaining animals, and myself, that lived here

Suddenly, I felt my nose catch onto a loud amount of smoke. Sniffing gently, I realized that there must be a fire nearby.

A flash of dread filled me at the thought of the forest on fire, and I immediately went to inspect.

I followed the dense smell for about a mile until I saw the yellow flames licking at each other tamely through the trees. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing it was only travelers who lit the fire, before I began openly scoffing at their stupidity.

_"The animals that are left here are so starving they'll attack anything that draws attention. These travelers will be dead by morning,"_ I thought, rolling my eyes.

I then felt my cheeks turn upwards in a mischievous grin in realization.

Since these people were to be dead by morning, it would be wasteful to have their food left untouched. Perhaps I would go and make sure their problem never arises.

My stomach growled in agreement.

* * *

Diaval stood, frozen, in horror as he watched in great sadness as his lady companion fled at the sight of him.

He knew he must've looked hideous like this, but he never intended for her to flee before he could give her a sincere apology for causing her so much trouble.

Seeing the strange liquid pour down her cheeks in her obvious distress had hurt his pride very much. Her suffering had been his fault; however, as much as he hated to admit it, he was _starving_. He had to get his food from somewhere!

_"I'm sure accusing her of this was wrongful to her as well," _he thought, still staring at the place where his beautiful feathers would be; he missed them already.

"Would you have rather me let them beat you to death?" He heard the horned woman ask him again in a knowing tone. Diaval could only frown into her oddly changing colored eyes.

He glanced behind him, trying to move his nonexistent wings before turning to look in the direction his lady friend had fled.

"I'm not certain," he retorted. Her expression never changed.

"Stop complaining. I saved your life," she pointed out with an almost demanding tone# Diaval felt his eyes droop, tired from holding them up to match the powerful enchantress.

"Forgive me," he muttered reluctantly. She didn't blink.

"What do I call you," she murmured, ignoring his kind apology.

"Diaval," Diaval said, somewhat proudly, before sinking. "And in thanks for saving my life, I am your servant# Whatever you need."

It hurt to simply give away his freedom, but Diaval knew that with pride, also came great honor; and so, with great sorrow, he bowed his head, admitting defeat.

"Wings," he heard her breathe in her graceful voice. "I need you to be my wings."

Diaval gave her a second of an odd look, before she spun on her feet and moved to leave the horrid wheat field.

He let out a surprised sound as he struggled to walk alongside her on his still wobbly legs and as he did, he couldn't help but think of his lady friend.

_"She had waited for me when I was tired," _he thought with a grumble, before he felt a strong pull on his bones.

Diaval almost let out a yelp, but before he could, he found that he was involuntarily flapping his wings once again. He was back in his true form!

_"Oh thank god," _he thought with relief as he flapped his newly found wings with ease, though a pang of grief filled him at the fact that he couldn't fly off to wherever he wanted to go. He was forced to follow his mistress now.

"On the other side of the forest there is a castle nearby, you know of this correct?" The horned woman asked without so much as turning her head.

"Yes," Diaval answered, even though he knew it only came out as a caw.

_"If only I could speak like I do as a human,"_ he thought. _"I could've gotten my point across clearer to her."_

He felt his wings growing tired as he followed closely beside the fairy; she was a very brisk walker for one who needed a third leg.

"Excellent. As of now I need you to fly there and see what has become of a man named Stefan," She demanded silkily without giving any reason.

Dival felt himself frown, even as a raven. _"She wants me to spy on a wealthy castle human? This is what I gave up my freedom for?" _He thought with a twinge of disbelief.

"When you have returned, several other duties will befall upon you, Diaval," She said, his name rolling of her tongue.

"And in case of dire need, I give you this," She finished, finally turning to face him.

Diaval then felt himself squawk in surprise as a flash of gold overcame him, and to his disappointment, he was back in the measly human form.

He turned to his mistress in anger as she let the smallest of smiles graze her face as he stumbled on his foreign human legs.

"I don't see how this is a gift," he pointed out, standing on the balls of his...feet he believed? to keep himself balanced.

"No raven," she tittered. "In case of the dire need to communicate with another for my soul purposes, I give you the ability to change yourself from raven to human; however I still may change you myself whenever I need to. My power is still dominant over yours."

Diaval felt his human eyes grow wide at this. He could both fly and speak whenever he wanted?

"Forgive me, but at the time being I'm afraid I don't have clothes for you, so I strongly advise you stay in your true form," his mistress told him over her shoulder.

Diaval looked down at himself, confused.

Of course he looked different, but ravens never wore clothes. Why would it matter if he didn't wear them as a human?

"I don't understand-" Diaval started, confused, but was interrupted but a genuine laugh coming from his mistress.

"Just go," she ordered through her soft giggles, making Diaval silently bristle before he felt the familiar tug at his body to find that he was once again a raven.

_"I'll need to figure out how to do this," _Diaval thought as he flew away from his mistress, whose name he didn't even know.

Diaval had in his head to do as his mistress had told him and fly straight to the castle, but as his strong and beautiful wings carried him over the forest he couldn't help but let his eyes wander, looking for his lady friend.

_"Now that I can change forms I can talk to her and apologize directly now,"_ he thought with rising joy. He could finally clear his conscience!

As he flew along anxiously looking, the skies became darker and darker until finally, Diaval suddenly felt a whiff of smoke catch onto his sensitive senses making his wings involuntarily direct him towards the obvious fire being burned at the chance of finding food.

_"This hardly ever happens!"_ He exclaimed in his mind. No humans were ever so stupid as to light a fire to attract all animal attention.

As he neared the fire, however, Diaval was surprised to hear several shouts coming from where the fire was.

Forgetting his task entirely, Diaval felt his birdlike curiosity draw him closer to the shouts until he felt his clawed feet rest upon a single branch overlooking the scene in front of him.

Several men, armored men by the looks of it, were restless in their anger as they seemed to surround a single cowering figure.

Their horses whinnied to where they were tied, spooked by the many shouts while Diaval saw the figure, a young girl, being forced to scramble towards the fire on her back to escape the crowding men, getting dangerously close to it.

"You think you can steal from us!" He heard the largest of the men shout, suggesting to Diaval that he was alpha.

"I wasn't _stealing_," He heard her small coy remark.

_"Lie,"_ Diaval thought immediately with growing worry.

"A filthy whore and a filthy liar then," he heard the alpha spat at her before yanking her to her feet by her upper arm. "

Perhaps a good scarring will teach you a lesson. Don't worry little thief; I won't let it kill you. I'll just let it leave a few scars. Something for you to remember me by."

Diaval could see the girl pale at his words, the strange liquid streaking gently down her cheeks, as the male slowly, almost tauntingly, pushed her even closer to the fire as to where her skirts were nearly catching aflame.

Diaval felt his kind heart race, frantically considering his options.

_"The farmer ran when I changed from raven to human, would these men run too?"_ Diaval thought worriedly racking his small brain to find a solution.

_"But mistress said to only change in an emergency. Is this an emergency?"_ He thought, and as he watched the girl be pushed closer and closer to the fire, the cheers of the others growing louder and louder.

Diaval could barely make out her features on account of how dark it was, but with the light coming from the fire, he could easily tell that it was...his lady friend.

He'd found her just in time to watch her burn.

Diaval felt himself squawk in worry as he saw the alpha suddenly grip her hair roughly, making her yelp, and forced her head back towards the fire, a sick grin appearing on his face.

"It's a shame I'll have to ruin your pretty face," the alpha sneered evilly.

_"Oh yes,"_ Diaval thought with determination, readying himself to jump. This was definitely an emergency.

* * *

_(10 minutes before)_

I silently peeked through the many bushes surrounding the campsite, my growling stomach overpowering my common sense, and felt the heat rise to my cheeks at what I saw.

Closely surrounding the fire were maybe 5 men, and by the red and gold colors on their heavy armor, I could tell that they were the king's soldiers, most likely on their usual monthly route to collect their taxes from the poor people like me and my family.

I could easily see the bottles held in their hands as they were singing some kind of drinking song while sloppily shoving food into their rotten mouths.

_"I hope they burn it that fire," _I spat in my head before circling the entire perimeter, studying my options.

"Alright. Since the soldiers are drunken in their gluttony it shouldn't be too much of a challenge to sneak in and take it; however, they are remarkably wealthy. The wealthy are more aware than the poor which means I'll have to take the food they must have stashed somewhere else," I murmured aloud to myself.

As if on cue, I heard a soft whinny come from my left, and to my delight, I saw several horses tied to the trees, their satchel bags bulging.

_"Wonderful," _I thought with a smirk.

With a silent leap, I slinked away from my vantage point and glided over to the horses, picking out one of the smaller ones in case it decided to get violent.

I watched the small horse snort and whinny softly as I approached, backing into the others.

"Shh! Shh," I hushed, frantically turning to watch the men, who were now in plain sight, by the fire.

If any of them turned I would be seen.

"It's alright," I soothed the horse, holding my hand out gently, deciding to earn its trust before approaching further.

I watched the horse stamp and snort stubbornly, the others not even noticing, and eventually calmed down enough as to where I could gently stroke its nose.

The horse nickered softly as I petted it and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Good horse," I praised with a whisper. I then traveled down the body of the mare until I reached the saddle bag, my nimble fingers picking through its plentiful contents.

I suddenly heard a loud roar of laughter come from the men making both me and the mare jump, it neighing loudly in the process along with the others.

"Hush!" I tried desperately, petting the horses neck to quiet it.

"Shuddup yah useless shit!" I heard one say, turning around to yell at the horse, only to catch my wide eyes and sneaky fingers caught in their saddle bags.

"'EY!" I heard the man slur in a raged shout, alerting the others to my presence.

_"Damn!"_ I shrieked in my head as I abandoned the saddle bags and attempted to run; however, before I could even make a step, I felt two rough hands grip my upper arms and hoist me from the ground.

"Let me go!" I shrieked, my heart pounding wildly in my chest.

"Looks like we got ourselves a little thief," I heard the man holding me cackle, a bit more soberly than the others.

_"This usually doesn't happen!"_ I thought with dread as I felt myself being dragged over towards the fire.

I kicked and struggled against the man holding me, but because of the fact that he has probably eaten more food tonight than I've eaten in the last month, he was significantly stronger than I was.

I then felt my body being violently whirled around to face the man holding me, and I bit back a whimper at the sight of him.

He was slightly bigger than the rest of them from what I could see, and look as if he hadn't bathed in months. His dirty, greasy brown hair hung to his shoulders in wild disarray, a knowing look in his cold, pale blue eyes.

"I bet you thought you weren't going to get caught," he snarled in my face. His breath stank of alcohol.

"I-I" I started fearfully before the other chimed in.

"Awe _poor_ thing."

"Such 'a skittish thing."

"Shouldn't scare 'er too much. She's only 'a girl."

"Who cares!"

"SHUDDUP!" I heard the man holding me by my arms shout, throwing me to the ground. I could only assume he was the leader.

_"Being frightened only urges them on," _I told myself, as I tried to prop myself up as straight as I could on the ground.

"You think you can steal from us?!" I heard him yell, making me inwardly want to cry.

"I wasn't _stealing_," I tried coyly, batting my eyelashes while looking for an escape.

"A filthy whore and a filthy liar then," I heard the leader bark at me, bringing tears to my eyes.

Never in my life have I ever been called such vulgar things! On account of this, I felt a single tear fall down my cheek.

"Perhaps a good scarring will teach you a lesson," I heard the leader sneer, earning several shouts of encouragement from his followers as I felt my body being limply pulled back up from the ground.

_"He doesn't mean..." _I thought in disbelief before I felt my eyes widen. He was going to throw me into the fire!

"Don't fret little thief. I won't let it kill you; I'll just let it leave a few scars. Something for you to remember me by," he soothed mockingly, making me cry openly.

I flinched as I saw him take a menacing step forwards, making me take a step back. We continued this until I could feel the roaring flames burn from just behind me.

_"Oh god!"_ I sobbed in my head.

I then let out a shriek as I felt him take a fistful of my hair and yank my head backwards, my hair almost in the flames. I felt a sickening turn in my stomach as I heard the others cheer wildly.

"The king wouldn't tolerate for this," I tried with a final attempt.

"Oh shhh," I heard him cackle mockingly as I heard the hiss of the flames meaning that they had caught on to something. "As if he would care about a worthless peasant whore like you."

I was just about to let out a scream for mercy before I heard a frightened shout come from one of the men.

"Witchcraft! You Demon!" I heard the man dangling me over the fire suddenly whimper in fright making me more frightened than I already was.

I then suddenly felt a cold, smooth hand take hold of my wrist and hurl my body away from the fire to where I fell to the ground, breathless.

_"Am I on fire?!"_ I thought frantically, checking my skirts to make sure, only to catch a glimpse of my hair, where a few inches of it had been brutally singed.

_"Monsters!"_ I screamed in my head as I rolled onto my back to see where they went, only to find that they had deserted, leaving their satchels and leftover food abandoned on the ground.

I was left completely alone, to my shock, completely clueless to what happened.

That is, until I felt a cool hand grip my shoulder.

* * *

**PHEW! Oh my god I thought that chapter went on forever! I'm sorry about the sudden cut off but this was already bordering 4,000 words.**

**I had wanted to make more of this chapter, but it kinda turned into a filler one so I'm sorry about that.**

**On the bright side though, the next chapter will have lots of Diaval action in it, but until then what did you guys think?! **

**Our OC's thinking of the Moors people? Diaval's meaning for following her? And how about the fact that I've decided to keep him naked for a little while longer? ;D**

**Thanks so much to those who have reviewed followed, and favorite. I really means a lot so thank you! **

**If you have thoughts, don't be shy! Let me know what you think!**

**Till then!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Again I'm sorry about the little wait again, but I just finished my finals yesterday so school's finally out! I promise updates will be a little more regular now.**

**So this chapter is just fully conversation between our OC and Diaval, so hopefully it won't be boring for you guys. I personally find complex and lengthy conversations very interesting and very telling about the characters concerned. **

**Again a HUGE thanks to my followers, favoriters, and reviewers! It's you guys that encourage me to continue writing!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Maleficent I only own my OC and anyone else you don't recognize.**

* * *

Chapter 4

It felt as if my fear were creating tiny creatures that ran their way across my arms and into my heart at the feeling of the hand on my shoulder.

_"What if it's one of the soldiers that didn't flee," _I thought with a whimper, too cowardly to turn my head in the fear of finding my eyes staring into drunken ones.

My thoughts were so invaded with shock and humiliation it didn't even occur to me _why_ the soldiers had ran; all I could do was gently stroke the ends of my singed hair to try and calm myself.

"I promise I won't harm you, just please tell me you're alright," I heard a rich voice plead from just behind me.

In my surprise at not hearing a slurred threat, I frantically whirled my head around to see who was touching me, only to be met with a pair of concerned looking eyes that were dark enough to be considered evil.

And it was those evil eyes that belonged to the ever persistent raven man.

_"So that's why they ran; but how did he find me so quickly?!"_ I thought with dread upon recognizing him, ignoring his gentle plea, while quickly trying to scramble away from his hand and back to the trees before he took advantage of my vulnerable state.

"Please don't be frightened!" He said a little too frantically, making me jump. "I said I wouldn't hurt you!"

"Trying to lure me into security won't work, raven. Those soldiers may have been scum, but at least they told me that their goal was to harm me," I shot back shakily on the ground, silently looking for a time to escape while refusing to look at him.

"Putting my reasons for aside, one would think you would be more thankful to the one who just helped you," he replied, obviously hurt.

Feeling no amount of guilt, I let my hardened hazel eyes turn to glare at him only to immediately turn them to the ground in complete embarrassment.

_"Oh my god,"_ Was all I could think in my horror.

He was absolutely _naked_!

A good amount of dirt and muck still clung to his skin which offered little coverage, but that didn't make the situation any less improper.

On account of my father never making an effort to have me be married or courted, the male body and psychology was extremely foreign subject to me.

_"Does he know how wrongful this is?!"_ I thought, as I felt the heat rise to my cheeks, burning them.

"I-I didn't need your help," I stuttered, completely flustered.

"So you're saying you would rather have been thrown into the fire then? Even with my help you still lay here ill," he continued, smartly countering my remark, yet missing how uncomfortable he was making me on account of him advancing towards me.

"I am fine; just leave me be," I forced out without a stutter as I clumsily rose to my feet and attempted to flee, but was stopped by his cold hand grasping desperately at my wrist.

"Why do you dislike me so? You are sick, let me help you," he tried, stepping even closer, making me yank my hand back and frantically shy away at his closeness, my eyes glued to the ground.

"I am not sick! Leave-" I started to demand, but was quickly interrupted.

"Then why are your cheeks so red?" I heard him ask in a knowing way.

This involuntarily made me whip my head away from the ground to stare at him in surprise, trying hard to only focus on his face.

I slowly moved to point a finger to my reddened cheek; "This is what you think makes people sick?" I asked in disbelief.

_"Is he really that dim witted?"_ I thought with incredulity.

_"He is only a bird,"_ the smarter part of my conscience reasoned.

"Well," I heard him start quietly, his eyes losing their combative spark to drift to the ground upon noticing my reaction. "It's very unnatural. I only assumed-"

"Then your assumption was a mistake," I spat, even more humiliated at the fact that he had pointed out how embarrassed I was, even though he probably had no idea what he was doing.

"Now if you'll excuse me," I said tersely, forgetting my fear of his power, and moved to walk briskly into the trees.

"Please wait!" I heard him call from the trees making me walk faster.

"Can't you just leave me alone for two minutes!" I shouted back over my shoulder, more frustrated than anything at hearing his footsteps catch up with mine.

"I only want to apologize for this morning," he tried, his voice coming from just behind me. "It was not my intention for you to be blamed."

"Do I need to throw another rock at you," I threatened, reluctantly stopping in my walking to turn and face his naked form, trying to appear controlled.

"No," he answered far to quickly with wide eyes, making me grin slightly. "That was highly uncalled for the first time."

"Well perhaps I wouldn't have to turn to such things if you weren't so stubborn," I retorted coyly.

"Says the girl who refuses to listen to me," he shot back, making me scoff openly.

"And why should I? You've only caused me trouble," I poked, hoping to anger him enough as to where he would leave.

"Because," he continued, stepping forwards to grasping both of my shoulders to make me look at him. This only snapped me away from my taunting to leave me frozen.

"Ravens are prideful creatures, lady. Your distress has been a weight on my conscience, and until I am forgiven, I will continue to cause you trouble."

Hardly hearing his defiant response, I began to violently try and jerk myself away from his closeness, my cheeks even hotter than before.

"Yes, yes! You are absolutely forgiven! More than forgiven! Just let go," I spluttered, pushing harshly against his chest to get away.

"You're not being sincere," I heard him say with narrowing eyes as he gripped my shoulders tighter to keep me in place, my response obviously not pleasing him; however, this only made me more frantic.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please just let go!" I cried, tears now threatening to spill onto my cheeks.

I then suddenly felt his hands quickly leave me as if instead of them being atop my shoulders, they had been resting on a beehive.

With my shoulders freed, I immediately backed away, my eyes back to the ground as I grasped at my hair, completely ashamed.

"Am I really so frightening to you?" I heard him mutter softly.

_"How can he not know?!"_ I thought in disbelief.

Every impulse within my being was telling me to flee at my chance, but my guilt wasn't an impulse. It was an inescapable and annoying twinge caught onto my heart that continued to keep my feet firmly planted to the ground.

"You are _nude_," I said tersely, refusing to look up.

There was a short silence.

"Is that...bothersome?" I heard him ask as if confused.

"Of course it's bothersome!" I cried instantly, whipping my head to see his disgruntled expression. "It's entirely improper! Especially considering you were only a bird a few hours ago!"

"Well I mean no disrespect! I've never had to wear clothes before!" He retorted defensively.

"Whether that be true or not," I started, referring to the fact that he had probably used his powers to become human before, "You shouldn't go around flaunting yourself either."

I watched with slight amusement as his expression turned from defensive to shock.

"I do not _flaunt_-" he started, obviously flustered.

"Well if not then at least make an effort to cover yourself," I interrupted, pouncing on the opportunity to humiliate him as he did me. "I mean really. What if it were me that were nude? Wouldn't you feel uncomfortable?"

Even under the layer of grime on his face, I could still see the reddening on his cheeks.

_"Serves you right,"_ I thought triumphantly.

"If it made _you_ uncomfortable I would try and be respectable and not look at you, yet I wouldn't be able to stop myself from thinking of why you humans are so focused on your unneeded morals," he stated, in a way that hid his embarrassment; he was doing a much better job of it than I was.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," I said, genuinely confused, before I felt a low and uncomfortable turn in my stomach, making me double over momentarily in surprise.

"Are you alright?!" I heard the bird man say, concerned, as I saw him advance towards me out of the corner of my eye.

I immediately stood straight and put my hands up in defense. "You keep your bare self away from me," I demanded lowly. "I will be fine."

With that, I ignored his widened expression and straightly walked past him and back to the clearing; Where the satchels were.

"Again with your 'improper' remarks!" I heard him say from behind me, making me growl openly as I began to collect the bags strewn about.

"Why do you continue to follow me?! Honestly! I haven't got anything of value," I asked for the second time today. He didn't miss a beat.

"You do know that when an animal is so willing to follow it is a sign of loyalty and friendship," he pointed out in a knowing way.

I felt my fingers stop their rifling as I scoffed openly. "Don't let this situation mislead you. We are not friends."

I could almost feel how hurt he was, but I still had hope that if I poked him in the right spot, he would leave.

"Why not? Do you not enjoy my company?" He asked hurtfully.

"Not when it causes me unnecessary trouble, no," I stated with no regard for feelings. My only thoughts were for the food stuffed in the satchels in front of me.

"Well then I'm not so sure I enjoy your company either," I heard him say as if he were trying to make me feel bad. "You are frightfully foul at times."

"Well I've never been good at making friends," I shot back, surprised at how saddened my comment made me. The deafening silence from the man behind me suggested that it had upset him as well.

"Besides," I continued, masking my dejection, "If I'm so foul to you, why don't you just leave?"

"Because I'm still sorry," he said deliberately.

"And I still don't forgive you," I retorted just as quickly as I felt my mouth water as I dug out a perfectly round, green apple from one of the four satchels I had collected.

"I knew you weren't being sincere!" I heard him mutter, more to himself than to me.

"You say that as if you are surprised," I taunted, openly taking a loud bite from the apple.

"Well actually yes I am," I heard point out. "But what do you think you are doing?"

"Eating," I said plainly, as I moved to sit cross legged in front of the bags. I then felt a movement beside me, and I rolled my eyes as the man persistently sat down beside me.

"You're stealing their food?" He asked in disbelief making me scoff. I turned to see that he had copied my sitting position and was simply watching me intently.

"It's not like they're going to come back for it," I told him knowingly. "Besides, they did try to throw me into the fire."

"Well wasn't that because you were stealing from them in the first place?" He asked, making me bristle as I took another bite.

"You're one to talk. You were stealing this morning also," I pointed out, throwing the apple core into the fire as I dug around for something else to eat, only to find a pair of leather boots in the bottom of the bag.

"I wasn't _stealing_," he mimicked me. "Your brother threw me the bread. I simply took it."

I hardly reacted to his snide response as I yanked the boots from the bag and tossed them to him.

"Then why don't you simply take these," I stated, as I grabbed the second of the four bags and felt my heart rise at feeling the soft fabric inside it.

_"Now maybe I won't have a naked man following me anymore!"_ I thought with a brightened expression.

"And this too," I said, throwing, what I believed was a shirt, at him which caused him to jump slightly beside me.

"What is this?" I heard him ask, confused.

"They're clothes. Now if you're going to insist on following me then I insist you take the damn clothes and forget your mannerisms," I responded instantly, pulling a belt out of the third bag and pants out of the fourth.

"But-" I heard him start begrudgingly, ignoring my crude language, as I threw him the belt and pants.

"But why are there even clothes in there anyways?" He pointed out, as if being smart would deny the fact that I was going to make him put the clothes on.

"Because armor gets heavy when you're out riding a horse all day, now put the clothes on," I demanded, standing up to give him privacy.

I then took the fourth bag and walked down to the fire to warm my body and hands. I hadn't even noticed how the dark air had clung to my skin and chilled me to the bone.

_"My anger must've been keeping me warm enough,"_ I thought with a smirk.

"You are also very hypocritical," I heard him say combatively, obviously not done arguing with me.

"That is a very bold statement," I chided over my shoulder, though a slight twinge of hurt bounced off my chest. "I'd be surprised if you were able to justify your reason for saying it."

"Well," I heard him start without faltering, "You stride around boasting and knowingly speaking of your chivalrous morals and yet you are able to sit contently and steal food from other people."

This caused my smirk to be wiped clear from my face, leaving it exposed to how shocked I was. I couldn't even think up a decent response.

"If you're going to steal, girl, then steal. What you do does not matter to me, but afterwards, I'd suggest you don't go around chiding to others on the importance of morals when your own aren't as pure as you make them out to be," he continued, ranting off his mouth.

"Listen you," I started, efficiently angered.

"You think I am proud to steal? To be this way!? I was brought up to have the morals I speak so highly of! And you'd be wise to understand that when your family decides to give up on you, it leaves a person barren and confused as to what is truly important. I speak the wisdom of what I have been taught to have, yet I cannot differentiate between the right and wrong no longer. I don't need you to tell me this," I rambled, tears now falling from my cheeks, I being unable to stop them.

It was absolutely silent for several moments; all that could be heard was the crackle and popping of the dying fire.

"You say they've given up on you?" I heard him ask so softly it might as well have been a whisper.

I wiped the tears from my eyes, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. "They keep me on the verge of starving, then they throw me out the moment I try and express my feeling of how unfair I'm treated in my own house. I do speak to them, really, they just don't listen."

"And is that why your tongue is so loose when your around them?" He asked, his voice now directly behind me.

"My tongue is so loose because it is always wound too tightly," I retort, reluctantly turning around to face him, my eyes widening slightly.

I was glad to see that he had put on the clothes, yet there was no tunic so his black shirt cut dangerously deep, exposing much of his chest. The pants and boots fit him well, as they were also black, which allowed him to easily blend in with the shadows.

He had found water, most likely from a canteen, and had washed away the traces of dirt and muck from his hair, face, and hands, so that now I could clearly see the concern laced within his eyes that were not an evil black, but only a very warming dark brown.

"I think your parents care about you," he said after a moment, stepping forwards slowly as if not to startle me. "They just go about it in a strange way."

"You think that when a parent starves their child it is a sign of caring?" I ask in disbelief, although relived that I could finally converse with him properly instead of having to talk at the ground.

"All I know," I continued due to the lack of response, "Is that if I ever were have children, I would make sure that they were always satisfied. I wouldn't starve them for anything."

"That is why you and your mother are the same in that respect," he spoke lowly. "I saw this morning that she gave you more than half of her bread while she is just as frail, if not more so, than you. A mother can never give up on her child."

"Well I've most certainly given up on her, along with my father and brother," I said stubbornly. "And as for you, raven, I-"

"Diaval," he interrupted.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"My name isn't 'raven', it's Diaval," he said, almost warningly, for me not to address him as such again.

I then watched in apprehension as he slowly stuck out his hand, expectantly, not even blinking.

_"How do birds even have names?"_ I thought with an odd expression.

"And now you're supposed to say your name..." he trailed off knowingly, as if teaching me how to be polite.

_"Such manners yet such rudeness at the same time, though impressive for a bird,"_ I thought with a low smirk.

Eyeing his smooth hand once more, I reluctantly gave him my own frail one and matched his gaze.

"Hello Diaval, my name is Talia," I spoke, inwardly knowing that a name was a person's only sort of identity, and I had just given mine away.

"Talia," Diaval repeated, as if seeing how my name felt on his tongue. "Well Talia, since you are so reluctant to accept a good raven's apology, it seems as if I will be following you until you do."

"Now wait just a minute-!" I started angrily.

"And I've decided to take it upon myself to escort you home," he interrupted, giving me a firm nod of his head in defiant conclusion.

This only infuriated me further as I stared at him with wide and angry eyes.

"I'm _never_ going back there," I shot back stubbornly. "I won't do it."

"Then I guess I'll have to carry you," he pointed out, tauntingly stepping closer.

"I'll scream," I warned, slowly backing away.

"No one will hear," he retorted, as if trying to be frightening. I only scoffed, though I inwardly knew he was right.

"Then I'll run," I said, curious to see what his response would be to that.

"Then I'll catch you," he replied simply. "As you said, you're kept on the verge of starving, it wouldn't be very long until you were too exhausted to go any further."

"Why do you _force_ me to do this?!" I cried, my raging emotions suddenly spilling tears from my eyes. "I don't want to go back only to be looked down upon!"

It seemed as though my tears were a curse to him. As soon as I started crying he stopped, in his almost threatening stance just in front of me, and hung his head as if ashamed of himself.

"I hate it when you do this," he grumbled, though gently trying to wipe away my oncoming tears.

"Then stop upsetting me," I suggested through my crying. I heard him sigh, almost in defeat.

"Perhaps I'll give you a choice then," he offered. "I was on my way to the castle when I found you. If you don't want to go home then you can accompany me on my journey. Whatever your choice, I'm not going to let you wander by yourself at night. It's dangerous."

_"Oh well at least I get a choice now,"_ I thought sarcastically.

"I'd take danger over you any day," I muttered.

"Isn't that what got you into this situation in the first place?" He asked deliberately. "I'd suggest you make your choice before I make it for you."

"Bossy," I shot at him, making him chuckle in amusement.

"Things would be so much easier for you if you would just accept my apology, Talia," he suggested, making me narrow my eyes.

_"Never,"_ I thought stubbornly. I reluctantly looked up to his awaiting eyes and let and a loud huff.

"Onwards to the castle then," I muttered.

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**Damn! That chapter was so hard to write! That was like 4,000 words of dialogue almost!**

**Hopefully it didn't bore you guys though because I'm personally very proud of this. I wanted to cover a lot of concepts that maybe weren't that clear between Diaval and Talia, so hopefully I succeeded in doing so.**

**IMPORTANT: Also, I know there is a but of a misconnect between Talia thinking that Diaval is from the Moors and that it is his own power that makes him turn from raven to human, but that's only because she hasn't been introduced to the idea of Maleficent yet.**

**So until next time tell me what you think! I love reading all your wonderful reviews, they are very heart warming.**

**Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**See A/N at the Bottom...:D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Maleficent, I only own Talia and anyone you don't recognize**

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Chapter 5

Diaval made sure to keep himself glued to my side as we walked in silence.

It seemed as if he were mentally debating whether or not to clutch onto my arm or not, but in his indecisiveness, his shoulder became attached to mine, making my strides go in a diagonal because of his weight.

_"He's probably afraid that I'm going to run,"_ I thought with an inward smirk. _"How funny he doesn't trust me."_

It was both funny and extremely aggravating that he was so untrusting of me because his cautious closeness would make it difficult if I tried to flee him; something of which I fully intended to do once I found a chance to.

As I tried to plan my quick escape, I suddenly felt a pair of eyes on me which made my skin erupt in a series of tingles.

I jumped at that, and hesitantly looked up at Diaval with an odd look, only to have him immediately turn his head away, as if pretending he wasn't just staring at me.

_"That's a bit unsettling," _I thought._ "He must be thinking about me."_

And how much I hated to admit it, my thoughts involuntarily kept wandering to him in contrast.

_"He's both a raven and a man, yet he knows how to retort my statements like a politician. He says he wishes for my forgiveness, yet he forces me to do things that he knows will anger me greatly. Why does he insist on this?! Why does he care so much; it isn't right,"_ I thought, my head whirling.

I planned to ask him one of my many questions to break both the silence, and his vigilant stare, but I suddenly felt a chilling gush of wind collect around my body, making me shiver.

_"It's never this cold in the summer,"_ I thought, bewildered.

It was then I noticed how dark it was during the night.

At home at least I felt at least somewhat protected behind unsteady walls, but out here with not even a lantern to light the way, there was nothing to shield you from danger.

I had _never_ felt this unprotected before.

"We should've stayed by the fire," I whimpered, thought inwardly slapping myself for sounding so pathetic.

This made Diaval falter, as if surprised I'd spoken, and gently move his hands to grip my upper arms.

Though it was a rude and uninviting gesture, I reluctantly paid no mind to it, though I wish I could slap him for it.

"Are you frightened?" He asked, concerned.

"No," I said, a little too quickly. I could've sworn I saw a smirk cross his lips, but it was too dark to be sure.

"I'm just cold is all," I assured with a glare, though my violent shivers were enough to keep him wondering.

"Are you not?" I asked in disbelief.

"I spend all my nights here. My body is used to it," Diaval said. "Though my body is used to it, I cannot remember a time where summer nights were this cold. I can understand why you are shivering."

I watched his eyes then narrow, as if deep in thought, his cool hands then absentmindedly beginning to rub up and down my upper arms.

This startled me as it was bordering on an affectionate action, but as I frantically began to pull away, I felt the heat radiating from his palms and onto my arms because of the friction he was creating.

He was trying to keep me warm.

_"Mother used to do this when I was younger. Before William was born,"_ I remembered, though immediately felt disgusted at the fact that once William _was_ born, my mother's warmth was only reserved for her him.

"Can we just build a fire?" I asked somewhat rudely, snapping away from my thoughts.

Diaval ignored my unfriendliness, to my annoyance, and continued to warm my arms.

"I'm afraid that if we build a fire it will attract other animals to us," Diaval said in almost a condescending way. "Unless you can fly like me, which obviously you cannot, I highly doubt that I could protect you from another animal if one attacked."

"I don't need your protection," I spat at him, angered that he refused to comply with my wishes. It _was_ his fault I was cold in the first place.

Had I been on my own, _I'd_ have been smart enough to stay by the already built fire.

"Perhaps not," Diaval shot back arrogantly, "But I suspect you would be thinking differently if there were a bear with us right now."

"I wou-" I started confidently, before I was interrupted.

"Or a wild boar maybe? A pack of wolves?" Diaval continued with a raised brow.

This made me both falter, and realize that having no weapon, Diaval was the only shield that I had if we _were_ attacked by animals, which was highly unlikely.

"That will never happen," I retorted, refusing to give him the pleasure of letting him know that I somewhat depended on him. I then heard him chuckle, heavily amused.

"What a cliché thing to say," he poked, making me bristle. "But maybe you're right. That will never happen, _if_ we don't build a fire."

"Well I'm not moving another step until we do," I stated stubbornly, crossing my arms while the wind continued to howl.

"Oh?" Diaval mocked, as he stopped rubbing my arms.

"So we want to go back to this conversation? I've already told you, I will carry you Talia," Diaval threatened in almost a scolding way.

I couldn't even think up a response I was so shocked. This only deepened my scowl as I stood grounded, ready to slap him if he tried such a thing.

We stared at each other for several moments, each refusing to comply, until Diaval finally rolled his eyes and sighed heavily.

"Why are you so stubborn?" He asked with a slight groan.

"Why are you so aggravating?" I countered sharply, making him roll his eyes all over again.

"You do know that I would simply let you on your way if you would just forgive me," He said with a wild gesture.

"Well you make things difficult for me!" I stated.

"_I_ make things difficult?" He asked, shocked.

"Yes!" I answered with growing anger. "You get me forced from my own home, follow me, aggravate me, and now make me follow you! You expect me to forgive you for this when you've done nothing to earn it from me."

"So how do I earn it?!" Diaval asked, completely flustered.

"Well you could start earning it by giving me warmth!" I exclaimed.

"Fine!" Diaval shouted, before he came at me, making me shrink away in surprise.

I stood completely frozen in my trembling as I was suddenly forced into his gentle embrace.

I quickly found that I couldn't move as I was brought close to his chest, my cheek on his shoulder. His arms were gently placed around my upper and lower back, making it seem as though he were giving me a hug while gently cradling me to his body.

My shock turned to complete fury in a matter of seconds, my anger blinding the fact at how warm his body was.

With an amount of strength I didn't even know I had, I violently shoved him off me, making him stumble back in surprise, but not before slapping him across the face as hard as I could.

"What the _hell_ was that?!" I demanded with a loud shout, but got no answer.

I had pushed Diaval back a good few feet, but even from a short distance, I could see the look of complete and utter shock on his face.

His hand quickly moved to rub his cheek where I'd slapped him, but when my eyes were directed to the left side of his face, I myself was surprised to see the long scar that ran from his face and down his chest, but even more surprised to find that I hadn't noticed it before.

_"Where did he get that?" _I thought, though quickly diminishing my concern and remembering my anger.

I watched Diaval's shocked expression change from shock, to hurt as he still massaged his cheek.

I then felt my eyes widen as I froze. I had gotten him away from me! And that was all I needed.

Diaval seemed to grow alert to this as he caught my widened stare. I didn't hesitate.

I frantically whirled my body around and leapt through the trees that laid innocently next to me.

"Wait!" I heard Diaval shout after me before I heard the loud "_SQUAWK!"_ quickly follow in pursuit.

_"He's changed back!"_ I warned myself as I began to sprint.

I didn't look back as I crashed through the brush, practically running blind on account of how dark it was. I felt several branches scratch through my skin as I tore past them, wincing at how it stung my arms.

I felt my legs quickly beginning to tire as I tried to continue on, the loud _"CAWS!"_ becoming an effective incentive for my legs to keep moving.

My knees were suddenly reminded of their soreness as more and more pressure was put on them. I wouldn't have been surprised if they had started to bleed again.

Sweat clung to my body, making my dress stick to my skin in some places, while the wind relentlessly whirled around my body, freezing my sweat to my skin making a cold layer of numb over my limbs making it even more difficult to keep moving.

My lungs and feet continued to burn in contrast to my frozen limbs, making it difficult to breathe.

_"Diaval was right,"_ I thought over my sub consciousness screaming for rest. _"I'm too malnourished to keep this up for much longer." _

I made it as far as the next clearing before I felt my body collapse to the ground on its own account. I could hear the flapping of wings over my heavy breathing as they seemed to stop next to my shuddering form.

"I also seem to remember me telling you that I would catch you if you ran," I heard Diaval say arrogantly, now apparently back in his human form.

I ignored his taunting response as I forced myself from my stomach to my back so that I could obtain more oxygen. I coughed heavily as I continued to shudder and writhe on the ground, too exhausted to cry, even though I greatly wanted to.

"Why do this to yourself?" I heard Diaval ask gently, the hurt in his voice open for me to hear. "Why do you run from me?"

It was then I realized that I couldn't give him an answer straight away.

_"Why do I continue to do this?" _I thought to myself as if I were trying to solve an athematic problem. It took me several moments of thinking to come up with a valid answer.

"Because I decided not to return to my house so that I could have my freedom," I stated. "When you came along, it was as if you took that freedom from me."

This made Diaval fall absolutely silent as I continued to tremble and pant on the ground, the frozen sweat on my body becoming more apparent.

"That wasn't my intention," I heard him mutter softly after a few moments.

"I know," I responded instantly, too tired to give a sharp retort.

It was silent for another several minutes, the only sound being the wind and my quieting breathing.

"You putting your hands on me didn't help my wanting to stay either," I pointed out after a while.

"But you said I could earn your forgiveness by giving you warmth," Diaval said, confused.

"Yes, warmth from a _fire_," I specified as though it were obvious.

"Well," Diaval started, somewhat sheepishly, "When I was young and it was cold, my mother would gather me and my siblings to her body so that we could share her warmth."

At my lack of response Diaval continued.

"Since ravens cannot build fires, we get our warmth from each other. Forgive me for not remembering your morals before trying to give you what you wanted."

This made me instantly sit up and roll my eyes at his crossed figure just beside me.

"You state your apology and yet you find a way to weave your sarcasm through it," I pointed out with a grin.

"I've wasted enough sincere apologies on you," he said, returning a grin.

As we sat in another silence I felt a pleasant stir within the air, the mutuality coming from the both of us giving off a rather peaceful vibe.

I knew I still didn't forgive him, because of my stubbornness I don't think I would anytime soon, but at the moment, I felt content that he was here with me.

Though I'd never allow myself to become too attached to call him 'friend,' I reluctantly allowed myself to enjoy his company, for one can't be alone all the time.

"So your mother was a raven?" I asked changing the subject, now referring to his powers.

Seeing that we were between arguments I didn't know how long the opportunity to ask would last, though instead of the straight remark I was expecting, Diaval gave me a strange look.

"Yes," he said slowly with an odd expression. This made me frown in confusion, his expression making me falter.

"So your mother must have been from the Moors," I explained trying to understand. This only made Diaval more confused.

"No," he said, giving me an even stranger look. "My mother laid her eggs here in the forest."

"So it was your father who gave the inheritance," I said, relieved that I had found the answer.

"Talia, what on earth are you talking about," Diaval asked, extremely confused.

"Your powers!" I explained, now growing frustrated at my own confusion. I had thought I was making this quite clear.

"If neither your mother or father had powers then how did _you_ get them? Were you cursed?"

I suddenly saw Diaval's expression change in an instant to that of surprise, his brown eyes widening in realization.

"_Oh!_ Oh, oh no I wasn't cursed-" He started.

"But then how-" I tried, but he quickly interrupted me.

"The power is not mine. It was given to me. This afternoon," He explained slowly, as if carefully thinking before speaking so that I could understand.

I felt my words becoming caught at the back of my throat.

"Wait, so you couldn't become a human yesterday?" I specified. Diaval nodded.

_"That actually makes a sort of sense,"_ I thought, mentally face palming at how idiotic I had been thinking.

"I can see that must have been confusing," Diaval smirked almost apologetically.

I opened my mouth to agree, but was suddenly interrupted by a loud howl, one of which I was sure wasn't the wind.

Several more howls followed the first making me feel uneasy. I felt Diaval immediately tense next to me before scrambling to his feet.

"Come on," I heard him say frantically, roughly pulling me to my feet.

"Are those wolves?" I asked fearfully, trying to move only to find my legs almost useless on account of how stiff and sore they were.

"Yes," Diaval answered, still frantically trying to pull me along behind him. "And they've just caught our scent!"

"What!" I exclaimed in fear as I stumbled along clumsily behind Diaval, his grip on my wrist nonmoving. "How can you tell!"

"Humans can understand other humans, so it's only natural animals can understand other animals," Diaval explained. "We've got to hurry before they catch up! Come ON!" He shouted impatiently at me, frantically tugging at my arm.

"I can't go any faster!" I wailed. "My legs are numb!"

"You're serious?!" Diaval cried as I winced, still trying to keep up.

"Do you know how I got this?!" He suddenly shouted at me over the loud howls and yips of chase echoing loud through the trees.

I looked at him fearfully to see that he was pointing to the long scar on his body.

"Wolves EAT ravens! I almost got eaten once and I'll be dammed if it almost happens again!" He cried, now pulling nearly all of my weight through the trees.

This only made my fear turn into horror, for I had never seen Diaval act in such a way.

It was then I realized that Diaval was afraid of wolves.

"But your a man now!" I tried, panting heavily. "Surely they don't recognize you're a raven!"

"I may be a man but I still hold my scent!" Diaval explained fearfully. "The wolves won't notice the change in my appearance as long as my scent is the same!"

"Well what do we do!" I whimpered. "I can't run for much longer!"

Diaval suddenly stopped in his tracks and was silent for a moment, the only sound being those of the wolves persistent howls. I took this time to catch my breath.

"What are they saying?" I asked nervously, not really wanting to know. I watched Diaval as he gulped.

"There saying that they're going to eat you first because they can sense you're easy prey, and then they'll come after me," Diaval breathed, before pulling me along once again.

"They want to eat me?!" I cried out in horror as I began to stumble behind him once again.

"They say that their pack is starving," Diaval explained, still trying his best to pull me along even though I felt as if I were about to faint.

"I won't let them get you," Diaval stated, determined, though I wasn't so sure.

The trees and surrounding area suddenly became a large blur to me, the only sound I could hear being those of the yelps and howls of the wolves that seemed to be growing closer by the second. My arms and neck were quickly becoming as limp as my feet and I felt like I wanted to collapse.

Diaval suddenly stopped to a dead halt once again, though this time I was in too much of a daze to realize it in time, and so I felt myself tripping over him and falling to the ground with a loud _thud!_

"Jesus, Talia!" I heard Diaval swear as I felt him lift me up my the arms and place me back on my feet as if I weighed nothing.

"Come on we're going to climb the tree; I'll help you up alright?" Diaval told me quickly, trying to stay calm.

I watched him then change to a raven and fly up to the first branch of the tall oak tree just in front me before changing back to a human and offering me his hand.

"No-" I tried to protest, knowing that we'd simply be treed if we didn't keep running, but Diaval didn't give me any room to resist.

"Now is _not_ the time to be stubborn," He told me in almost a threatening tone which made me halt in my protests.

Hearing a loud rustling behind me I turned round only to let out a loud scream as I saw one of the wolves leap through the brush and barrel straight towards me, snarling.

"Talia, now!" I heard Diaval demand desperately, outstretching his hand out to me.

Without hesitation I jumped up and grabbed his hand just as I felt the snap of jaws clench down on my skirts.

"He's got hold of me!" I cried out hysterically as I felt Diaval trying to fight against the wolf's pulling and yank me up to the branch.

The wolf growled and let out muffled barks as it tried to pull me back down to the ground by my skirts just as the other wolves crashed through the brush in pursuit of the first.

I fearfully counted 7 of them in all, the lot of them snarling and growling to each other, the first wolf now pulling harder than before.

"Talia you've got to kick him away! I can't pull you up if he's still got hold of you," Diaval shouted down to me. I didn't have to look up to know that he was struggling to hang on to my hand.

"I can't-!" I sobbed, my fear clouding my mind of its usual sharpness.

"They're saying their going to jump up and grab hold of your feet!" Diaval suddenly yelped. "If they pull you down I can't fight them all! You have to kick him NOW!"

I felt my adrenaline race through my veins as forced myself to stare down at the growling animal as it refused to let go.

With my last bit of courage I took my free foot and started wildly kicking at it, trying to make it let me go; however, this only seemed to infuriate the others as they barked and snapped their teeth together ferociously.

My heart was beating like a drum as I raised my foot and kicked the wolf right on his nose which made him yowl and yelp, letting go of my skirts in the process.

Diaval then immediately pulled me up to the branch the second he was given leeway as the others snarled and snapped underneath the tree.

I let out a shriek as they began to jump and claw under the branches, as if trying to climb the tree.

The tears I'd been trying to hold back silently began to fall down my cheeks. I then felt Diaval's hand hesitantly pat my shoulder as I quietly cried, most likely because he was afraid to do anything else.

In that moment, all I wanted was a mean of comfort, the only one of which being Diaval.

Still crying, I reluctantly allowed myself into a sort of vulnerability as I tentatively turned to wrap my arms around his neck and tremble.

I felt him instantly stiffen, as if unsure what to do, but eventually returned my wanting for comfort and wrapped his own strong arms around my back tightly, silently letting me know he wouldn't let me fall as the wolves continued to growl and bark at us from below.

At being so close to him, I suddenly felt Diaval began to shake almost as hard as I was.

_"It must be the wolves,"_ I thought with a pity. I could only imagine what they were saying.

"I am _so_ sorry Talia," I heard him suddenly murmur, ashamed. "We should've built the fire when you said. It would've scared them away."

I could almost feel my heart let in all of the guilt I had been ignoring throughout the day at his words. Though I wanted to answer and tell him that _I_ was the one who should be sorry for running, I just couldn't.

All I could do was lie still and wait for the wolves to leave.

And even with the deadly danger below me, in that one moment, I had never felt more safe or protected.

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**Hey guys! So a little more action in this chapter, hopefully you liked the sweeter part at the end because my heart was melting while I was writing it. **

**However, things won't be spiraling right into a romance after this, so it's not too cliché I promise!**

**Thanks again to everyone who has stuck with me, I LOVE you all!**


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